This began as a footnote but is its own section now. It has its own footnotes at the end.
40. Fr.
O'Connor comments (about the gospel being preached in the whole world
first): 'St. Augustine points out (Ep. 199, n. 48) that this does not
mean that all men will come into the Church, but simply that the gospel
shall have been preached to all nations and all men given the
opportunity to embrace it. He also comments, "What does the phrase 'then
it will come' mean except that it will not come before that time. How
long after that time it will come, we do not know. The only thing we
know for certain is that it will not come sooner" (Ep. 197, n. 4). St.
Augustine therefore considers the universal preaching of the gospel a
very remote sign of the world’s end'.
This observation works for the second (chapter thirteen) timeline in particular, as there is a definite and significant period of peace before the end.
In fact, it applies to both periods since the victory
of the Church necessarily implies that the gospel will be preached to
all nations and without hindrance. However, there is a difficulty to be
considered: Christ said that this generation 'shall not pass' until all
these signs have occurred. What, then, of the gospel having been
'preached to all nations', followed by a thousand years of peace ? This
cannot of course be contained in one generation.
There
are a couple of possible solutions: First, the elect are alive during
the whole time (as the 'first resurrection', Apoc. 20:4-6);[40A] and even before
their time, the gospel had been preached to all nations during
the reign of Pius XII (this also means that for every subsequent
generation this requirement is already filled and cannot be undone). So, with the elect, that generation had not 'passed away until all things are fulfilled'.
(But
after the main part of the Apocalypse, from chapters thirteen to
nineteen, the gospel may well have to be preached again to all nations,
since the Faith is all but disappeared from the world at that time. The elect will presumably do
this {how the Church is to be re-constituted is to be seen when the
time comes}. Thus might begin the millennium of the Church victorious in
the world, but unlike the first timeline, the crisis was far worse and
so the victory afterwards is that much greater, as is the length of the
period of peace.)
The
second solution is like St. Augustine's: That once all nations had
heard the gospel, the end of time (beginning with the antichrist) may come at any time afterwards, but
not before. This is the solution for the first timeline specifically.
The
third solution combines St. Augustine's and the specific words recorded
by the three evangelists who had recorded the eschatological discourse.
St. Matthew writes: "And this gospel of the kingdom, shall be preached
in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the
consummation come" (Matt. 24:14). St. Mark writes: "And unto all nations
the gospel must first be preached" (Mark 13:10). St. Luke does not
include this line at all. And all three of them almost identically relate
that 'this generation shall not pass until all these things are done' and that 'Heaven and earth shall pass' but not His Word.
St.
Matthew seems to indicate that 'the consummation' encompasses the whole
time from the end of the period of peace until the Second Coming
proper. Consider the epoch of the period of peace as when 'the gospel is preached to all nations' for in that time the Church
has no hindrance. St. Mark's account does not contradict this. St. Luke
does not say. But all three agree that, at the beginning of the very end, there shall be news of 'wars and seditions' as if this phenomenon is new to
this generation.
But this solution is the most likely:
It should be added that 'unto all nations the gospel must first be preached' (Mark 13:10) can itself be taken as a veiled announcement of the period of peace following the Church's triumph, which is necessarily implied in all Catholic prophecy afterward, so that whether it is for approximately forty years or one thousand, either way the generation which saw the end of the period of peace will also live to see the Second Coming. This is not contradicted by St. Matt. 24:14, if what he meant by 'the consummation' is the whole time beginning with the ending of the period of peace. In other words, if what he meant is something like "...but before all this begins to happen" (the Gospel had to be preached to all nations, without hindrance as per the period of peace following the victory of the Church) then the first line of each of the Gospel accounts falls into place as announcing the end of the epoch of peace and the return of war and strife.
But
what is the context of this, the 'gospel of the kingdom' ? Is it the same
for both timelines, or does it have more than one meaning ?
The
disciples went with Our Lord to the temple, and He announced to them,
"These things which you see, the days will come in which there shall not
be left a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down" (Luke
21:6). He was speaking of the end of the world, and not only the destruction
of the temple. The rest of His discourse bears this out.
Our
Lord was asked by His disciples, "Master, when shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign when they shall begin to come to pass ?"
(Luke 21:7). Or: "Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be
the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the world?" (Matt.
24:3). Or: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the
sign when all these things shall begin to be fulfilled?" (Mark 13:4).
After the hint about the period of peace having come to an end (and there are reasons why it was hinted and not spelled out), Our Lord gave what seems to be another proximate sign for the beginning of the end:
In
St. Mark's account, Our Lord says that "many will come in my name,
saying, I am he; and they shall deceive many". St. Luke records His
words as: "Take heed you be not seduced; for many will come in my name,
saying, I am he; and the time is at hand: go ye not therefore after them".
St.
Matthew adds: "And he shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great
voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them"
(Matt.24:31).
As
for when the elect are gathered together by the angels, it would seem
to be right at the end, so close to the Second Coming itself that Our
Lord spoke of it afterward (Matt. 24:29-31 and Mark 13:26-27). We will
see a possible reason for this (involving 'Gog, and Magog' of Apoc. 20:7-8).
For
the first timeline (Apoc. 11), the context is that
these things are happening during the time of the rise of the antichrist
and culminating with his reign (of 'two and forty months').
This should be the same time as when "Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles; till the times of the
nations be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).
For
the second timeline (Apoc. 13), the context is that
these things are happening far beyond the living memory of the world
except for the elect and members of the first resurrection. But that
generation which saw the end of the period of peace will not have
passed by the time all is fulfilled.
This would immediately solve the difficulty of the generation that will live to see the period of peace to the very end, as it is not said precisely when this generation begins. We may conclude that 'this generation' is the same which had seen the end of the period of peace all the way to the Parousia.
It is interesting that Our Lord opens His discourse (and all three
record it almost the same way) with the warning that false
Christs will appear: "Many will come making use of my name; they will
say, here I am, the time is close at hand; do not turn aside after
them". All three also immediately follow with the end of the peace in
the world: "And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed by
it; such things must happen first, but the end will not come all at
once" (Luke 21:8-9~Knox).
He is more explicit later on: "And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; lo, he is here: do not believe. For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, and they shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce (if it were possible) even the elect" (Mark 13:8-9).[40B]
St. Matthew does not say 'false Christs' but only false prophets, and St. Luke does not mention them at all.
So it seems that the first sign
of the end of the period of peace is the appearance of false Christs,
declaring that it is He, and the end is near; and others who point to these false Christs. At the same time, or very
shortly thereafter, there will be heard of wars and rumours of wars.
In
the first timeline, the deception may well be between the 'false
Christs' and false prophets on the one hand, and the antichrist on the
other. The former will deceive many into a false expectation of Christ's
return, and the latter will deny it entirely. In our world today,
there is no such false Christs, because the devil wishes to lead all to
the antichurch (and because the world is not in fact very near the end). It seems necessary for him to very specifically
lead everyone to follow the false papacy (rather than away from it) which is also to be somehow greater than the
papacy it pretends to be. See Apoc. 13:8 and 2 Thess. 2:4-9.
One thing to consider about the first timeline is the proximity of the defeat of the antichrist to the end. Different Catholic prophecies indicate that it should not be a very long time.
Apocalypse indicates the commencement of this short time with the sounding of the
seventh trumpet: "And the seventh angel sounded the trumpet: and there
were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdom of this world is become
our Lord’s and his Christ’s, and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Amen" (Apoc. 11:15). The world must then be in expectation of the end,
but not with the expectation of faith: "And the nations were angry, and
thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
and that thou shouldest render reward to thy servants the prophets and
the saints, and to them that fear thy name, little and great, and
shouldest destroy them who have corrupted the earth" (Apoc. 11:18). It
is to be wondered whether at this time there would still be 'false Christs,
and false prophets' operating.[40C]
In the second timeline, it begins much the same: There is an expectation of the second coming of Christ, because the Church knew the proximate time was 'a thousand years after the tribulation'. At that time will appear false Christs and false prophets, seeking to divert people away from being faithful to Christ's Word concerning His return. Shortly after they begin to appear, the devil begins to 'seduce the nations', "which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea" (Apoc. 20:9); and it begins with 'wars and seditions'. The rest of it is already described in section III (Part One), and one can go no further with this. However there are still a couple of points which may be made concerning especially the second timeline:
The
false Christs may deceive people into thinking they may be 'taken' like
the elect: "And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to
the uttermost part of heaven" (Mark 13:27); Our Lord urges
His followers to "go ye not therefore after them". The only reason which
comes to mind which might make this believable, to people in the world at the time, is the disappearance of
the elect, who might have been taken by the armies of 'Gog, and Magog'.
Their absence is, until they are gathered by the angels, notable.
It is entirely possible, also, that the elect themselves are supplanted
during this time, perhaps not all at once, but little by little as the
"wars and seditions" work their way around the world. In that case, the
'false Christs' may also represent false elect, which is why Our Lord
said "For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ: and they will
seduce many" (Matt. 24:5); or "Take heed you be not seduced; for many
will come in my name, saying, I am he; and the time is at hand: go ye
not therefore after them" (Luke 21:8). In this case, the words 'in my name' might mean 'as though one of the elect'.
These scenarios concerning the false Christs, though somewhat
contradictory, may even operate simultaneously as the devil knows
how to work with contradiction.
Lastly,
the main point of the eschatology is to describe the circumstances of
Our Lord's return, and how important it is not to be deceived: Not to
follow after false Christs; not to expect the Parousia immediately when there is
wars and rumour of wars after there has not been such things for a very
long time; and to "take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be
overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life,
and that day come upon you suddenly" (Luke 21:34).
It
almost seems as if Our Lord were describing the devil's attempt to
subvert the meaning and circumstances of His Second Coming. There might
be many, inspired by the devil, asking "Where is Christ ?" when the
thousand years are finished and He is not seen; even after several wars have
come to pass and the rumour of more continues; and additionally, "signs in the sun,
and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the
waves" (Luke 21:25); and even such "great signs and wonders, insomuch as to
deceive (if possible) even the elect", if the elect were there to warn them (Matt. 24:24).[40D]
Perhaps after the devil is loosed again, and begins to seduce the world, many do not want to heed the signs of the end of the world; though they know it by the signs, and also by the time that has passed as the period of peace, one thousand years.
Many might have let their "hearts
be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this
life" and do not want to think about it all ending soon.
Those
who keep faith and wait for Our Lord despite everything that is
happening "shall be hated by all men for [His] name’s sake" (Luke 21:17).
Our Lord forewarns, "look to yourselves. For they shall deliver you up
to councils, and in the synagogues you shall be beaten, and you shall
stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony unto them"
(Mark 13:9). In the context of all of this, is that testimony about the imminent Second Coming; that the
kingdom is near, despite the denials of many and the false signs and
wonders and false Christs and false prophets ?
"And
when they shall lead you and deliver you up, be not thoughtful
beforehand what you shall speak; but whatsoever shall be given you in
that hour, that speak ye. For it is not you that speak, but the Holy
Ghost" (Mark 13:11). One will not have to explain why everything is
happening; but the main point concerns the expectation of the Second Coming.
"And unto all nations the gospel must first be preached" (Mark 13:10). This verse, given in between the previous two, indicates another possible interpretation: Not only that the Word is preached first to all nations, but also that the imminent Second Coming is also thus preached to all nations, with the admonishment to all to be in the state of grace and to keep watch.
40A. As for how this is supposed to work, we do not yet know. It likely has something to do with the book of life being unsealed; it might be something reserved for the end-times. We know the last beast, the 'eighth', comes up out of the abyss; the 'first resurrection' somehow is its opposite. That is as far as we can go for now.
40B. The differences in the Gospel accounts seems to mean that whatever detail is not
common to all three has a different meaning according to the timeline. For example, only St. Luke reported that Jerusalem would be surrounded with an army, and then trodden-over by it, but instead both St. Mark and St. Matthew wrote of the 'abomination of desolation' in the holy place. According to the timeline which is fulfilled, the 'holy place' thus mentioned is not necessarily in Jerusalem. Could be Rome; could be Fatima. It could be two separate events: one around Jerusalem, and one concerning the holy place.
40C. It seems that the world did not, after the antichrist, have a very great expectation of the second coming of Christ, but instead remained in rebellion. This would be the great apostasy in the first timeline. To them who kept the faith is addressed the words of the eschatological discourse, as they would be taking heed (and would convince some of their neighbours at the least).
40D. Our Lord knows the devil will try to deceive the world concerning the
Second Coming; He warns against it; and the devil knows He warns against
it and will try to subvert the warning. It is almost circular. Our Lord's words concerning His
Second Coming causes the devil to try to subvert them, which means Our
Lord warns against that subversion, and the devil will try to undermine that, etc.
(Back to footnotes Part Two)
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